Tonga Upsets France as England, Australia Advance at World Cup

Oct. 2 (Bloomberg) -- Tonga beat France 19-14 in the
biggest upset of the Rugby World Cup to send its opponent into
the quarterfinals on a run of two straight losses. England and
Australia advanced to the last eight with victories.

Tonga, ranked No. 13 by the International Rugby Board,
secured the win yesterday with Sukanaivalu Hufanga’s try and 14
points from the boot of Kurt Morath. Vincent Clerc touched down
for fifth-ranked France in the final seconds in Wellington to
secure a losing bonus point and the Pool A runner-up spot.

France, which lost to tournament host New Zealand last
week, joined the All Blacks in the quarterfinals and will face
Pool B winner England in Auckland on Oct. 8. Fiji, at the
inaugural World Cup in 1987, is the only other team to have
advanced to the quarterfinals after two pool phase defeats.

“Never has qualification tasted as bitter as this,”
France coach Marc Lievremont said in a news conference. “I
trust my players. I trust them to fight back.”

England beat Scotland 16-12 in Auckland last night to lock
up first place in their pool and put the Scots on the brink of
elimination, while Australia routed Russia 68-22 in Nelson to
move atop Pool C.

Five of the eight quarterfinal spots are filled heading
into today’s last round of group games. Italy and Ireland play
for the right to join the Wallabies in advancing from their
pool, while Argentina and Wales can seal the runner-up spots in
Pools B and D by beating Georgia and Fiji, respectively. The All
Blacks close Pool A play against Canada.

Ashton’s Try

Chris Ashton’s 78th-minute try put England ahead of
Scotland for the first time in the match at Eden Park. It came
after replacement fly-half Toby Flood kicked for a lineout
rather than take a penalty shot with his team trailing 12-9.

A drop goal and penalty from Jonny Wilkinson, who missed
four of his six shots at goal, had pulled England within three
points of Scotland, which led 9-3 at half time.

“Sometimes the World Cup is not about winning fancy,”
Ashton said in a televised interview. “We were cutting it quite
fine. Scotland did a great job.”

Chris Paterson and Dan Parks each kicked six points for
Scotland, which needs Georgia to beat Argentina and deny the
Pumas any bonus points to extend its run of always reaching the
World Cup quarterfinals.

“It’s tough to take,” Scotland captain Alastair Kellock
said in a televised interview. “We put in an outstanding effort
for most of the game and once again we slipped at crucial times.
I’m gutted.”

Tonga Upsets France

Tonga, which needed to score at least four tries to have
any chance of advancing at the 20-nation tournament, led France
13-6 at halftime and extended its lead to 19-9 with two Morath
penalties before Clerc’s late score in the corner.

The victory margin could have been greater had Morath not
missed four of his eight penalties and Samiu Vahafolau not
squandered a clear try-scoring opportunity. France had only
previously lost World Cup games against teams who have reached
the semifinals at least once.

“I have a lot of respect for the French team, but tonight
they didn’t really turn up,” Tonga coach Isitolo Maka said in a
news conference. “For us to beat France is very special.”

Australia’s 10-try rout of Russia in Nelson came at a cost
as Drew Mitchell, who touched down twice, suffered a hamstring
injury that Wallabies coach Robbie Deans said was likely to end
the winger’s tournament.

“Obviously he’s bitterly disappointed,” Australia captain
James Horwill said in a news conference. “He wants us to go on
and do the job we’re here to do.”

Nine From 10

Berrick Barnes and David Pocock also crossed the line twice
for Australia, which ran in seven first-half tries to lead 47-5
at the break before being pegged back by Russia.

The Bears, playing in their first World Cup, outscored
Australia in the second-half until Barnes went over for his
second try with two minutes remaining. James O’Connor kicked
his ninth conversion from 10 attempts to complete the scoring.

The win lifted Australia atop Pool C with 15 points from
four games as Russia ended its campaign with a fourth straight
defeat. The Wallabies will finish atop the group if Ireland
loses to Italy today and fails to gain two bonus points.

Should Ireland top the pool, then Australia will face
defending champion South Africa in the quarterfinals on Oct. 9
in Wellington. The Springboks beat Samoa 13-5 two days ago to
seal first place in Pool D and secure their record 11th straight
victory in World Cup games.

“South Africa have shown they’re very much World Cup
exponents,” Deans said. “They’re building nicely.”